Luck runs out early

The damp weather set the tone Wednesday night for the White Sox's dreary performance.

After a 20-minute rain delay, their penchant for rough starts resurfaced in a 6-2 loss to defending American League champion Detroit.

And for the third time in four starts, rookie left-hander John Danks (0-3) didn't receive any run support despite a photocopy of a horseshoe for good luck that hung in his locker before the game.

The Sox were one out away from being shut out for the second time this season before Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya hit A.J. Pierzynski on the ankle on an 0-2 count, and then walked four consecutive batters.

Anderson, starting for the second consecutive game, grounded to third to end the game.

Anderson's status could be in question because Darin Erstad has impressed Guillen in center field and the Sox don't have a veteran right-handed-hitting backup center fielder.

After the game, Guillen defended his decision to stick with the 25-year-old Anderson against Jones, but the Sox cleared room on the 40-man roster for an acquisition by outrighting first baseman Casey Rogowski to Triple-A Charlotte.

"I don't know yet," Guillen said in response to the possibility of sending Anderson to Charlotte to play regularly. "We have 12 pitchers. If we send him down, we have to get another guy to play center field to help us in the outfield. I don't know yet if that decision will be made. We haven't talked about it yet.

"It's hard to get comfortable in [Anderson's reserve] role and play once a week."

Anderson, who lost his center-field job when Erstad was acquired as a free agent during the off-season, is batting .118 after his 0-for-4 performance.

"On those days I'm playing, I just need to relax and accept a base hit," said Anderson, who is 2-for-17. "I think I'm trying to make up for lost time. The sooner I get through that and take some easy swings through the zone, I'll be all right."

The Sox have the same feeling about Danks, who was saddled with a 3-0 deficit after four batters. Danks settled down but was outpitched by Chad Durbin, who limited the Sox to three hits and struck out a career-high nine in eight innings.

Unlike Friday, when Danks allowed one run through the first four innings, the Tigers pounced on Danks' off-speed pitches. The first four batters in the Tigers' lineup were a combined 8-for-12 against him.

"They stacked the lineup with right-handed hitters," said Danks, who has received two runs of support in his four starts. "And [the changeup] is the most effective pitch to right-handed hitters."

Slow starts have become a common occurrence for the Sox, who have been outscored 25-8 in first innings.

They have allowed 14 first-inning runs in their last five games, including 10 in the last three games against Detroit.

The Sox's depth was stretched further when Rob Mackowiak, starting in place of Dye, was pulled after hitting a double because of a lower abdominal strain. Mackowiak, who is 6-for-19, was listed as day-to-day. Guillen said his move was precautionary.

"They have to understand we're going to miss [Scott] Podsednik more than what I thought," Guillen said. "And that's why I took him out."